Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey elephants Bunny, Susie and Minnie line up in front of a table full of hot dog buns July 2, 2010 in Coney Island, New York. The three elephants competed against three adult males to see who could eat the most buns. The elephants won, 41 dozen for the elephants and 15 dozen for the men. AFP PHOTO / DON EMMERT (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)File photo of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus elephants. (credit: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)

ATLANTA (CBS Atlanta/AP) — A Fulton County judge has temporarily blocked the county’s ban of the use of bullhooks by elephant trainers days before the circus comes to town.

Commissioner Rob Pitts told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Judge John Goger’s order effectively halts the county from enforcing the ban.

“The fact is that Fulton County has been providing animal control services in Atlanta, and Atlanta has been paying Fulton County for those services,” Pitts said in a statement to the Journal-Constitution. “That amounts to an Implied Agreement/Contract.”

The decision comes days before the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to Philips Arena in Atlanta. The show begins Wednesday and runs to Feb. 20.

Pitts said he worried the judge’s order could extend to other animal control measures.

Fulton County was the first Georgia jurisdiction to approve a bullhook ban when lawmakers passed the ban in June.

The circus’ operators could not be reached for comment on the decision.